Social Skills

Social development is a broad term that describes how a child relates to others around them. The ability to share, to take turns, to understand someone else’s perspective, and to carry on a conversation with people a child knows and with strangers, with children their own age, and those older and younger, are  all part of social development.

Babies and children are social beings. Babies are born social. As they grow older, they learn how to act in socially acceptable ways. They learn how to do so by watching others around them.

• For example, a child watching their parents being kind to others will likely develop a sense of kindness.
• In contrast, witnessing violence, and especially at home on an ongoing basis, increases the chances that a child will use violence as an adult.

Children develop and refine their social skills mostly by watching others. A child’s culture and family structure will heavily influence what is viewed as socially acceptable behavior and what is viewed as as socially unacceptable behavior.

• For example, children who are always teased may grow up thinking that teasing is a socially acceptable behavior; although feeling hurt, they might tend to tease others.
• In contrast, children whose opinions are listened to and valued will most likely listen to and value the opinion of others.

Children’s environment plays an important role in shaping their social skills. Parents may not always be able to protect their children from outside circumstances, but they are able to provide them with a safe haven, inside the walls of the home. This safe haven is what helps children become healthy well-adjusted adults. Home stability and safety are key elements in the development of social and emotional development and the child’s overall well-being.

Children need to develop certain skills and achieve certain milestones in order to turn into socially competent grown-ups.

The following are the most important social skills/milestones that children need to achieve